12 Days of Christmas Collection: 2 Turtle Doves and 3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves, probably the one look I least time preparing for, actually turned out to be one of my more popular cards of the collection!

Very simplistic with a black back drop, the colors made a nice change from a more traditional palette, and is one of my favor color choices-black, white and hot pink. The outfit was brought together simply by going through my selection of old pieces, though I fixed up the bonnet. Erika in this look reminded me of a Victorian girl shopping for christmas after dark. 

3 French Hens, on the other hand, was another shoot from last year that I wasn’t satisfied with for the final selection. The image was warmness in the winter, using soft hues of red, orange and gold for a farm yard setting with a girl collection eggs from the hens. I hated the fact that in the original picture, you can clearly see the doll stand between Jaime’s legs! 

So the second try of the shoot, I buffed up the set with a fake tree I had to get, since it was the perfect size (I know I’ll be using it for future shoots). The background was a forest scene printed onto a sheet of wrapping paper. The hen coops were actually small boxes I saved when working in a boutique 2 years ago, the packaging used for christmas ornaments. The straw and eggs were crumpled up pieces of paper and oval shaped white zhine stones. The outfit itself was tweaked up when I added more layers of crimson fabric to the skirt.

Despite my efforts in creating the set, though, I was heart broken that when uploading the image to be printed, it kept trimming it down so you missed a lot of the details. It just didn’t do the look justice in the final photo! I’ve got to remember to not be so afraid of catching details that weren’t part of the set into the photo, and stick to cropping it on the laptop.

12 Days of Christmas Collection: Partridge in a Pear Tree

This was my Christmas collection last year, that became my major stock for the exhibition. Inspired by the number of birds in the 12 Days of Christmas, I thought of doing a shoot for each stanza of the song, and use origami to make all the different kinds of birds.

Since I was a little rushed for time last year, so instead of creating completely new outfits, I decided to go through my boxes of previous pieces and mix and match for different color palettes. It was great to learn how many pieces I’ve made over the years that can be reused again and again.

The ‘Partridge in a Pear Tree’ look had a gold and green color scheme, used from an dress I mocked up inspired by the Ghost of Christmas Present from A Christmas Carol, but I made a new headpiece. Originally I took the pictures in my kitchen, putting the origami partridge in a houseplant on the fire place mantle piece-it was pure co-incidence that the sun shaped clock got in the shot. But when I was selecting the pictures to get printed into cards, I wasn’t satisfied with this particular shoot. I decided to go back and give it another try.

This time, the shoot was much more theatrical, as if Jaime were strolling through a garden and came across the partridge in the tree in passing. I used the Stitcherella set, and mounted a branch borrowed from a local florist trimmed in print outs of pears with the origami bird perched on a branch. 

It was refreshing to take the pictures from a completely new angle. The final photo really draws in the viewer, and has more of an atmosphere than most of my shoots. However because of the closeness of the tree to the camera lens, I was disappointed that some of the branches came out so blurry.

Christmas Bazaar Afterthoughts

Well, after months of preparing Punkee Pixie made its debut yesterday at a school Christmas bazaar. 

Even though I sold very few cards, the reaction my work received was great! Everyone who saw the 90 x 60cm poster smiled. Several of the younger children were delighted by the name Punkee Pixie. Several snippets I caught were ‘fascinating’, ‘nothing like this right now’ and ‘so original’. 

Though one teenage girl stated how she felt the dolls were ‘kind of creepy, like they’re starring into your soul’. Hey, I still take that as a compliment-they’re supposed to have a little edge to them.

So, it wasn’t quite the sell out I had imagined. I can’t lie about my disappointment-I know I have a product here, I just need to find my market. I refuse to stop loving this past time that I’m passionate about. 

So whether this works out or not, Punkee Pixie is here to stay, folks! 

Twisted Fairy Tales Collection: Goldishocks

Goldilocks is a heroine who is genuinely not so sickly sweet. The original bad girl herself, she commits Break and Entry, causes property damage, and even has the gall to take a siesta in a bears’ bed!

Patchwork and rustic charm were the foundations of this design. Inspired by the bear characters, I wanted to use animal fur shades for Goldi's frock-honey and dark browns and blacks, trimmed in black lace. The central piece lay in the apron, the prime piece that gave this the urban girly look, fashioned as a partial bodice around the waist. I really wanted to play on a darker vision of the bear, with the creepy teddy bear face on the apron. The red of the glaring eyes really stand out!

  I wanted Erika, my model, set lounging on the bed, to set the atmosphere of the cosiness of the cottage with its rustic beauty through woodwork and patchwork cloth. The bed (a shoebox) was paneled with downloads of dark hardware floors, and laid out with an orangey color tweaked up with felt patches of green and red. The ceramic bowl, showing the porridge Goldi has just wolfed down, came from an Asian paint set. Finally her teddy bear is a tiny token with my birthstone, a garnet, made a brilliant prop-especially since it’s darker reds played well to the palette of the shoot.

It was great to have several strong horizontal shots, with Erika lying luxuriously across the bed, unlike my previous shoots that all were primarily vertical shots. Also, it was refreshing to do a dress that was shorter-though her legs stand out a little too much. Only afterwards, I had the idea of checkered tights! But I’m thrilled that so a small piece, the details maintain an equally punchy impact.

Twisted Fairy Tales Collection: Stitcherella

Ah, Cinderella-one of the ‘Big Three’ of Fairytales, along with Snow White and Sleeping Beauty! What I love about this story is the number of images that relate to it-the pumpkin, the glass slipper, even the mice! Second the character of Cinderella can be represented in two phases-her housekeeper stage in rages, to her princess debut in riches! For this design, I wanted to combine the two.

There are a lot of theories behind how Cinderella gets dressed for the ball. I’ve heard one where she borrows one of her step sisters’ dresses. In the film ‘Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister’ she wears her mother’s wedding dress. 

I was really taken by that moment when Cinderella is fleeing from the ball in mid transformation as her dress vanishes-and even hints towards her real character (I always wondered why she didn’t just stick around after midnight regardless of her rags-the Prince finds out she’s a servant eventually, so why bother delaying the truth?).

Stirring away from the typical fairytale princess look, I wanted something more down to earth, more urban with the feeling of being homemade-like perhaps she made the dress herself, quickly sewing it together, standing out at the ball for her natural beauty and innovation. Hence ‘Stitcherella’ was born!

Blue has always been Cinderella’s color, but to stay clear of the traditional glitzy look and to remain true to the ‘rags’ twist, I complimented blue with browns, from chocolate tones to bronzes. 

I used a slim, glamourous silhouette and long trained skirt, and applied my ‘leaf’ technique I’ve been using for years, cutting up random pieces of various colored fabric scraps and stitching them into the skirt, in different shades of both silk and cotton, from royal blues to antique toned silvers. To further add to the homemade feeling of the dress, on the foundation bodice I flipped the seams edges on the outside. I wanted the dress to be as raw yet elegant as possible.

The setting is the courtyard of the castle as Stitcherella disappears into the night. The brick background for the floor and the archway I downloaded from a template from an amazing artist (and my true inspiration for this whole project), Cynthia Von Buhler, author was the incredible picture book ‘But Who Will Bell the Cats’ (www.butwhowillbellthecats.com). 

Taken advantage of the amazing prop opportunity, I printed an antique clock at midnight. Originally I imagined Stitcherella stepping on it as she ran from the ball, shattering it’s glass frame, but it looked better mounted in the background, as if reminding her of the urgency of the situation. The glass slipper was a piece from a key chain, which I spruced up with the skull beads that have been a reoccurring element throughout this collection. Finally I found this plastic mouse, that looked so cute in the palm of Erika’s hand! 

This shoot took almost a week to prepare for. But was it worth it-heck, yes! I had so much fun positioning Erika, swapping the props about, and had a hard time choosing one image to have printed for cards. 

Twisted Fairy Tales Collection: Wicked Queen

I wasn’t actually planning to do any villains for this series, wanting to focus on the dark side of the heroines themselves, but the Evil Queen from Snow White is a classic! I still remember being terrified seeing her transform in the Disney movie! Thinking about the character, she’s a mature beauty, and a superficial one at that-she relies on what she adorns herself in to emphasize her beauty, from the most glamorous gowns to the best make up.

The inspiration for the dress came from a Balenciago dress worn by Emma Watson. I loved the romantic twist of the industrial like bodice with the rough draping of the skirt. 

The bodice was my own design, and I love the color-blocking opportunities it offers! Due to a lack of black jersey, I went with a magenta and black palette. I later made the design of the bolero jacket piece-the dress by itself just didn’t seem regal enough. The soft purple lining fabric for the skirt was great for draping the skirt, the lightness and puffiness of its weight easy to manipulate, with only a few stitches to attach it to the dress. Finally I topped up the majestic feeling with an antique pendant, fashioned into a head piece with some braided through the hair.

The idea of the many mirrors in the background come from the scene in the ABC series ‘Once Upon a Time’-a series I totally recommend for anyone! In the series there isn’t one single magic mirror, but a spirit who is always at the Queen’s disposal. As she struts down a long corridor in her palace, the spirit jumps from mirror to mirror as they talk. I figured perhaps the Queen is so infatuated with herself that she surrounds herself with mirrors, in all shapes and sizes. I positioned Jaime, my model, on a couch I made a few years ago. The small plastic skull (part of some Halloween decorations) was the perfect size! I took one shot of her, and then has the image printed and mounted onto some antique mirror frame images. The effect was really cool, how her features and presence are amplified by the multiple reflections! 

 I loved the end results, especially the antique feeling with the shadows as well as the eeriness of the many faces looking out. I chose this as one of the few from the Halloween collection to sell next month. I was a little worried, especially with the skull, that the image was too dark for greeting cards-but honestly, that’s what PunkeePixie’s all about; the whimsy and beauty in all this unexpected!

Twisted Fairy Tales Collection: Snow Fright

Again inspired by the concept of the ‘Snow Bite’ doll from the Monster High collection, the idea of Snow White’s pale skin being due to her being a blood sucker brought about this design. The image of her sitting in a coffin, surrounded by seven graves (her recent victims) made an amusing twist on the story.

In every interpretation I’ve noticed Snow White is dressed in yellow, and I approached that as her primary color. The basis was a simple peasant like dress with a black bodice and a-line skirt of purple, with an off the shoulder blouse. Then to give it that ‘vamp’ look, I added the under layer of black lace that covered her shoulders to a choker, and gave her arms a regal darkness. I loved the contrast of the black lace with the canary yellow of the top, the perfect meeting of the sweetness associated with Snow White topped with that dark twist. Blanca made the perfect model, with her ruby red lips and wavey raven hair. 

The coffin was easy to construct, cutting up pieces of foam board decorated with images of wood work and lining the box with lilac satin (the traditional crimson red seemed so typical). I then printed and pasted onto cardboard seven blank tombstones for the seven graves. Originally I put the names of the Dwarves onto the graves, but somehow seeing Dopey’s name on a tombstone was a little too depressing, so I backed off, feeling the seven graves made the point fairly clear. 

Though the outfit was great, I wasn’t as happy with the shoot. The box never seemed to be right, and I couldn’t get the right angles as I envisioned them of Snow Fright lounging so elegantly in her coffin. 

Twisted Fairy Tales Collection: Slicing Beauty

Inspired by the recent release of the ‘Scary Tales’ Monster High Dolls, I chose to do a fairy tale themed collection with a dark edge for my annual Halloween collection. Fairy tales are often a reoccurring theme in my work, since I love the fact that no matter how many times they’re reincarnated, the characters and remarkable details of these stories are always recognized. 

I did a series of water color sketches that I did, taking a series of fairy tale characters, picking main features and putting a dark twist to their tales. I jotted down their names, thinking of ways to ‘creep’ them up their characters.

One of my first concepts was 'Slicing Beauty'. My sketch featured her in her Disney shade of hot pink, her in a corseted dress. The thorn covered castle made me think of cuts and lashes, so I shredded up her dress and made a cut across one cheek. One of the original aspects of the Grimm’s fairytale is that the princess would sleep through puberty. I figured she’d have 100 years of PMS to catch up on, and was inspired to created the image of her lounging in a bed, the drapes destroyed after she woke up cranky. 

The bed frame took time, created from a shoe box and downloading images of architectural features. With a knife I lashed at the satin drapes.

The outfit was pretty basic-grey and pink with some black floral race to continue the thorn theme. The stockings with the magenta ribbons made up with the lash up the thigh. Posing my model Jaime was fun, emphasizing that empowerment in the havoc she’d wreaked on her bed.